A major cause of cardiac death is acute coronary occlusion causing myocardial ischemia which results in a myocardial infarction or precipitates a lethal arrhythmia. Most patients currently treated for ventricular arrhythmias with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) have concurrent coronary artery disease, making them highly susceptible to ischemic events that may result in death. Although presently available ICDs can be beneficial during an acute ischemic episode by terminating any resulting arrhythmias with electrical stimulation, they do nothing to directly treat the occlusion. Present medical treatments are successful in managing acute coronary occlusion by dissolving the thrombus with chemical agents and preventing its reformation. Such treatments are generally performed only in an emergency-room setting, however, and in certain circumstances, only immediate relief from the ischemia can save the patient's life.